


A Promise Renewed

by StarryNox



Series: Dedue Week 2020 [4]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, Other, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Pre-Relationship, Student!Byleth AU, everyone is happy to see dedue!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:55:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22218895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarryNox/pseuds/StarryNox
Summary: At last, Dedue reunites with his former classmates...and someone he thought he would never see again.Belated entry for Dedue Week Day 5: Reunited
Relationships: Dedue Molinaro/My Unit | Byleth
Series: Dedue Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1593397
Comments: 3
Kudos: 34





	A Promise Renewed

The sounds of battle ring in Dedue’s ears as he sets foot on the Great Bridge of Myrddin. Ahead of him, he knows, lies what one would call the Kingdom army, if they were feeling generous. The war consuming Fódlan was of little concern to the Duscur encampment where he recovered from an almost certain death, save for the fate of Duscur’s hated enemy, but Dedue has heard that the Kingdom loyalists had dwindled to little more than the forces of houses Fraldarius and Gautier, forces which had in the recent months joined a militia based out of the old monastery.

The people of the encampment had shaken their heads when they heard—why help the mad prince of Faerghus, known by some as a one-eyed demon, when he has so clearly abandoned his own kingdom for the sake of revenge? They shook their heads at him, too, as he started to pack his bags, wondering what kind of fool he must be, to return to a debt he has already paid in full. But, when he’d haltingly explained that there are others he’d like to see, too, they had sent him off with as many supplies as they could spare, a thick hand-made scarf around his neck, pinned in place with what had once been a symbol of Duscur royalty, and a promise that one day, he’d return.

But for now, he has other promises to keep.

“Your Highness!” he calls, hefting his axe from the body of an enemy mage, one who’d taken aim at the backs of his classmates as they pressed on towards the enemy. Prince Dimitri’s head lifts, whips around towards the sound of his voice, and Dedue breathes a sigh of relief at the sight of him. The darkness in his eyes gives way to open-mouthed wonder, looking for the briefest of moments like the boy Dedue had once shadowed so faithfully.

“Dedue…how…” Dedue moves as fast as his heavy armor allows, taking out an enemy soldier who would take advantage of His Highness’s distraction.

“We can discuss it later,” he says, settling into his old post at Prince Dimitri’s side. “For now, allow me to join your forces.”

It is only then that he allows himself to look for more than a head of blonde hair and a fur-lined cloak. The sight of all his former classmates, older and grimmer but hale and whole all the same, is another weight off his chest.

A familiar flash of mint-green hair steals his breath away, even in the midst of battle. To allow himself a moment’s distraction is…unwise, at best, and yet he cannot help the way he seeks them out, the need to prove that they are really here and not merely a figment of his imagination wins out. He watches them dance around an opponent, ever-graceful even as the Sword of the Creator grows covered in blood.

Their gaze meets his, and he feels as if the air has been stolen out of his lungs. Their lips move—he is too far to hear their voice, but he thinks it might be his name that they call. But all too soon, the cry of an enemy soldier comes from his left, and he turns to meet them with his axe.

When the dust settles, he will go and meet them. Of that, he is certain.

Dedue hardly has a chance to lower his axe before Ashe and Annette barrel into his chest—he is mildly concerned that they will hurt themselves on the plate metal he wears, but they don’t seem to mind as they all but blubber into his sides. Dedue allows himself to smile as he settles a hand upon the tops of their heads, only to find that Ashe is now significantly taller than Annette.

How much has changed during the years he has clawed his way back from the brink of death?

He doesn’t have long to linger on the thought. Mercedes reaches around Annette cheerily to wrap him into a hug of her own, murmuring how good it is to see him into his armor while Sylvain slings a companionable arm around his shoulders. Even Ingrid is offering him a tight-lipped smile.

His Highness does not quite smile, but…there is a softening to his features nonetheless, and the sheer _wonder_ that has broken through his otherwise sullen expression is enough, Dedue thinks. When Marianne comes to tend to His Highness, he all but shoves her in Dedue’s direction, and though Dedue cannot help but worry for his liege’s own injuries, it is clear that for all his brusqueness, Prince Dimitri is glad to see him return.

Marianne smiles warmly at him, murmurs how glad she is to see he’s all right as she checks him over. She has come a long way from the hesitant, almost frightened smiles that could only be coaxed from her on the rarest of occasions when they were students. When Dedue catches her by the arm to thank her for taking care of His Highness in his stead, he tells her, too, that he is glad that she is well.

With his wounds healed and his liege in good hands, he at last makes his way to find a person he once thought he would never see again.

He finds Byleth alongside Duke Fraldarius and Sir Gilbert, overseeing operations though the battle has only just been won. He stands a respectful distance from the trio, not wanting to intrude upon or worse hinder their work, and though he knows it’s rude to stare, his gaze returns to their person no matter how he tries.

Though in truth, he is not trying very hard. It is, perhaps, inappropriate, but he wants little more than to drink in the sight of them. Now that he has a chance to study them properly, he notices that they remain almost entirely unchanged. Their hair is, perhaps, a little longer, falling a bit closer to halfway down their back than just below their shoulders, and they bear a few more scars than he remembers, yet they seem unchanged by the years in a way that he certainly cannot say for himself. He cannot help but wonder if they might be able to see him as a man, in a way they had not when they were both students at Garreg Mach.

But, more importantly, he notices the heavy set of their shoulders, the weariness that clings to them despite the logistical nature of their work. When Duke Fraldarius and Sir Gilbert take their leave, their shoulders slump even more. He is certain that to hold them in his arms would be inappropriate, yet he cannot deny that is precisely what he wishes to do.

“Dedue…” Byleth speaks his name in a tone that is almost reverent, and Dedue finds his resolve crumbling. He only manages a step towards them in the time it takes them to cross the distance between them and to throw their arms around him. Carefully, he wraps his arms around their waist in turn, relishing the fact that they are alive. “You’re here.”

“As are you.” They pull away from him, and he relinquishes his hold, not wanting to push beyond what is appropriate or allowed. Yet when they cradle his face in their hands, he cannot help but close his eyes, leaning into their trembling touch.

“Five years ago,” they say, their voice thick with an emotion he does not dare name, “we swore that we would look upon the stars in a time of peace.” He opens his eyes to find them blinking back tears. Carefully, he wipes them away. “I nearly broke it. Never again. So please…”

“I promise,” he says, and he means it. “My duty to His Highness is unchanged, but…there are other things which are precious to me, too.” _You are precious to me_ , he does not say, but from the faint upturn of their lips, he thinks that they understand. “We will see the stars together, when the war is over.”

And when they do…perhaps he will finally tell Byleth that he loves them.


End file.
